People who bought this also bought...

The German War

A major new history of the Third Reich that explores the German psyche....

Outstanding.

By
Francis S. Brown
on
06-09-16

Kill Anything That Moves

The Real American War in Vietnam

By:
Nick Turse

Narrated by:
Don Lee

Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins

Unabridged

Overall

97

Performance

83

Story

84

Americans have long been taught that events such as the notorious My Lai massacre were "isolated incidents" in the Vietnam War, carried out by a few "bad apples"....

Game-changer!

By
Stephanie Housel
on
02-09-16

America's War for the Greater Middle East

A Military History

By:
Andrew J. Bacevich

Narrated by:
Rob Shapiro,
Andrew J. Bacevich

Length: 15 hrs and 12 mins

Unabridged

Overall

720

Performance

649

Story

647

From the end of World War II until 1980, virtually no American soldiers were killed in action while serving in the Greater Middle East....

A Key to Understanding the US Need for Perp. War

By
Darwin8u
on
05-01-16

Iron Kingdom

The Rise and Downfall of Prussia, 1600-1947

By:
Christopher Clark

Narrated by:
Shaun Grindell

Length: 28 hrs and 30 mins

Unabridged

Overall

269

Performance

243

Story

245

In the aftermath of World War II, Prussia - a centuries-old state pivotal to Europe's development - ceased to exist....

Avoided endless stories about world wars

By
Nashville Cat
on
03-04-17

The Fall of Berlin 1945

By:
Antony Beevor

Narrated by:
Sean Barrett

Length: 17 hrs and 31 mins

Unabridged

Overall

248

Performance

231

Story

229

Antony Beevor has reconstructed the experiences of those millions caught up in the nightmare of the Third Reich's final collapse. The Fall of Berlin is a terrible story of pride, stupidity....

Engrossing

By
Salui
on
09-06-16

The Foundations of Western Civilization

By:
The Great Courses

Narrated by:
Professor Thomas F. X. Noble

Length: 24 hrs and 54 mins

Original Recording

Overall

678

Performance

588

Story

587

This broad and panoramic series, ripe with the telling detail on which history can turn, will help you pull an enormous sweep of history together into one coherent framework....

Highly recommended

By
Mike Keith
on
08-08-16

Enemy at the Gates

The Battle for Stalingrad

By:
William Craig

Narrated by:
David Baker

Length: 13 hrs and 27 mins

Unabridged

Overall

525

Performance

477

Story

476

A classic work of World War II history that brings to vivid, dramatic life one of the bloodiest battles ever fought - and the beginning of the end for the Third Reich....

great, but difficult to follow

By
Ed
on
03-19-16

The Dead Hand

The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and its Dangerous Legacy

By:
David E. Hoffman

Narrated by:
Bob Walter

Length: 20 hrs and 50 mins

Unabridged

Overall

829

Performance

701

Story

692

This narrative history of the end of the arms race sheds new light on the frightening last chapters of the Cold War and the legacy of the nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons that remain a threat today.....

Stunning

The Pursuit of Power

Richard J. Evans's gripping narrative ranges across a century of social and national conflicts, from the revolutions of 1830 and 1848 to the unification of both Germany and Italy....

Terrific comprehensive history

By
Awake Tex
on
02-02-17

October

The Story of the Russian Revolution

By:
China Mieville

Narrated by:
John Banks

Length: 11 hrs and 37 mins

Unabridged

Overall

233

Performance

215

Story

216

The renowned fantasy and science fiction writer China Mieville has long been inspired by the ideals of the Russian Revolution....

The 20th Century's New Weird History

By
Darwin8u
on
08-12-17

The Arms of Krupp

1587-1968

By:
William Manchester

Narrated by:
Paul Boehmer

Length: 48 hrs and 15 mins

Unabridged

Overall

85

Performance

77

Story

78

In this narrative of extraordinary richness, depth, and authority, America's preeminent biographer/historian explored the German national character as no other writer has done....

Where did Chapter Nine go?

By
Scott
on
06-24-17

The Third Reich at War

By:
Richard J. Evans

Narrated by:
Sean Pratt

Length: 35 hrs and 9 mins

Unabridged

Overall

760

Performance

575

Story

568

The final volume in Richard J. Evans’s masterly trilogy on the history of Nazi Germany....

Masterful

By
Karen
on
09-03-10

Publisher's Summary

In Exorcising Hitler, Frederick Taylor tells the story of Germany's year zero and what came after. Not since the end of the Roman Empire, almost 1500 years earlier, is there a parallel, in Europe at least, to the fall of the German nation in 1945.

As Taylor describes the final Allied campaign, the hunting down of the Nazi resistance, the vast displacement of peoples in central and eastern Europe, the attitudes of the conquerors, the competition between Soviet Russia and the West, the hunger and near starvation of a once proud people, the initially naive attempt at expunging Nazism from all aspects of German life and the later more pragmatic approach, we begin to understand that despite almost total destruction, a combination of conservatism, enterprise and pragmatism in relation to former Nazis enabled the economic miracle of the 1950s. And we see how it was only when the '60s generation (the children of the Nazi era) began to question their parents with increasing violence that Germany began to awake from its sleep cure.

Story

Into a conquered nation

What are the rights and responsibilities of conquering nations toward a defeated enemy? Are there rules which apply, or does anything go? Do those who supported the former regime by complicity carry a responsibility similar to that of the leaders? Should they be held to account and be punished, and if so, how? How might a victor's actions bear upon the future of vanquished people?

These are some of the vexed questions the Allies faced at the end of World War II.

The problem began with surrender itself: "With the end of the war, Germany was deemed to have ceased to exist." And yet, with or without a state, its people did continue to exist, with a multitude of problems, crises, and divergent opinions. While some considered defeat a "liberation," remnants of guerilla opposition from the Volkssturm and Werwolf organizations held out to the bitter end. With multiple allies invading the former Third Reich, each of whom had their own approaches and agendas, how could sense be made of the situation?

Frederick Taylor attempts, sometimes successfully, sometime less so, to give us a clearer picture of the entangled circumstances of postwar Germany. I found parts of it extremely painful to read, and in my opinion, the book raises as many questions as it answers. It is provocative, compelling, and a great springboard for discussion for those interested in the history of warfare, law, and politics.

It is, as expected, an Allied perspective so anyone looking for a more intensive look at the German people's experience will need additional sources. Overall it is a useful and instructive look at a time which has not been given the attention it deserves, and for that it is worth careful consideration.

Matt Bates was a good choice of narrator as his reading is well-paced, clearly enunciated, and his pronunciation of German more than competent.

Wow

Thorough, Facinating and Well Narrated

What made the experience of listening to Exorcising Hitler the most enjoyable?

The narration. No matter how well versed you are in the subject area even the best non fiction of this kind can get a little dry at times, but the excellent narration kept things flowing.

What other book might you compare Exorcising Hitler to and why?

Endgame by David Stafford, Germany 1945 by Richard Bessel come immediately to mind. This is easily my favourite.

Have you listened to any of Matt Bates’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I haven't listened to anything by this narrator before. I did appreciate that unlike a lot of narration for this genre Matt Bates' performance never felt or sounded condescending. For some reason some of the best books of this kind are narrated in a stilted, stuffy way that distracts from the material.

Any additional comments?

One of the best books of this kind available on audible. Highly recommended.

Sort by:

Overall

Ian

02-17-12

A forgotten period

So much is written about the rise of Nazism leading to the Second World War that the post-war impact of this is generally overlooked - particularly with the emergence of the Cold War, which distracts attention further east. This is a detailed account with plenty of original sources to support its ideas. The rival agendas of the war-time Allies when de-Nazifying Germany are well contrasted, as are the various visions of post-war Germany that emerged within American political and military circles. There is perhaps slightly too much on 1944-5 and slightly too little on the re-integration of Germany that would lead ultimately to the Common Market, which leaves one feeling that an extra chapter or so would have rounded the book off more satisfactorily. However, for teachers and students of modern Europe this book provides useful additional material to add to the study of the emergence of the Cold War and in particular to the accounts of the Berlin blockade.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Overall

Performance

Story

Bookworm

08-06-17

From War To Democracey

If you could sum up Exorcising Hitler in three words, what would they be?

<br/>an informative read

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. too much to digest in one go.

Any additional comments?

This aspect of the story of the war is seldom presented to readers, but this is a very well written, researched & presented account.

Overall

Performance

Story

Dan Rose

11-02-16

Excellent

I found "Exorcising Hitler" by Frederick Taylor to be a very interesting and thought provoking book. The book describes the final months of the second world war, the fall of Nazism and the slow painful rebirth of Germany as a democracy (in the Western Zones)

Whilst there is a plethora of books that deal with end of war and the fall of the Nazi's, there are not as many dealing with the aftermath. All countries involved in the conflict faced a period of austerity and rebuilding, but in Germany the task was much bigger as it was not only material (buildings and infrastructure) but also social and economic recovery which needed to occur. In the early war years, the German home front did not suffer in the same way as say the British who had for example had rationing from the very beginning of war, it was not until 1943/44 when rationing of food became more prevalent within Germany. In the same vein Germany only suffered minor damage in early British air-raids, it was not until much later when the Americans joined the war and technology had improved did bombing over Germany become more sustained and accurate. From mid 1943 onward the tides of war began to change and the German home front got a taste of what the countries invaded by the Wehrmacht years earlier had faced. Following D-Day on the 6th June 1944 western allies landed in France and made slow progress towards Germany and Berlin, there was of course the Soviets who were coming towards Germany from the East. By V E Day on the 8th May 1945, large parts of industrialised Germany lay in ruins, and like civilian populations across Europe they were exhausted after years of conflict.

As with all of Frederick Taylor's books I have read or listened to, this one is well written and flows easily, the book describes who the German's struggled following the surrender on the 8 May 1945 to come to terms with what had been done in their name. One of the difficulties was that there was not just one victor, but there was 3 and later 4 (when France joined) for the Germans to deal with, all of whom expected different things and operated there own zones differently. Whilst the western allies attempted to deal with the civilians under it's control in a firm yet fair way the same can not be said for the Soviets who extracted as much as they could from there zone.

If you have an interest in post war Germany, and how a nation was re-built from a very low base to become one Europe's strongest then you should read this book.

Overall

Performance

Story

qwerty

07-25-15

European Schism: The essential postscript to WW2

What made the experience of listening to Exorcising Hitler the most enjoyable?

Orderly and paced descriptions of events nation by nation

What was one of the most memorable moments of Exorcising Hitler?

The Germans changing view of themselves

Which scene did you most enjoy?

When the following German generation began to ask difficult questions and wouldn't take stock answers.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Britain cut its own postwar ration to stop Germany from starving even though British people didn't necessarily agree with the move.

Any additional comments?

Well thought out and meticulously researched. Interesting from the first word to the last.

Overall

Performance

Story

Neil

07-20-15

Superb book

What did you like most about Exorcising Hitler?

Explains in great detail the chronology and the characters who took part in one of the darkest periods of world history.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Exorcising Hitler?

The sheer scale of the challenge to keep the people of Germany (and Europe) surviving following the war.

What does Matt Bates bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Without him It's hard to drive and read!

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Rising from the Ashes?

Overall

Performance

Story

Ian

01-06-16

Dodgy Reading

The insistence of the narrator in reading the quotations in an accent was all a bit "Allo Allo".

0 of 1 people found this review helpful

Overall

Performance

Story

patrick thomas horan

08-28-15

Terrifically researched, marred by awful "accents"

If you could sum up Exorcising Hitler in three words, what would they be?

Unknown history revealed.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Not relevant.

How could the performance have been better?

The narrator. Im 40 and have access to TV since my youth and the internet over the last 15 years. I have also travelled (as have most people) to various places around the world. I do not need somebody to "do an impression" of what a German accent sounds like. I know what a German accent sounds like. We all do. Similarly we all know what an American accent sounds like. We dont need someone deciding to perform an impersonation (badly at that) of what the accent sounds like. <br/>Armed with this information, it beggars belief why educated people (like this narrator) saw fit to engage in a plethora of accents that start off somewhat quaint, then become amusing and finally really annoying. <br/>Such is the case here. The narrator's impression of what Franklin Roosevelt sounded like was awful for two reasons: firstly, he (FDR) sounded like he was from the Mid West, when in fact he was from New York (even I can do a passable, if brief, impression of a New York accent). Then, bad as this was, every other American character in the story also sounded the exact same. <br/>Secondly, I know what FDR sounded like. Quite a few of us can remember hearing him speak in documentaries (e.g. "We have nothing to fear except fear itself"; "A day that will live on in infamy"). We dont need to hear third rate character accents mangled terribly to enjoy the experience of having the book read to us. <br/>I take no issue with the narrator's diction or pronunciation, both were excellent throughout. But I found the "accents" which he employed, which included Russian, Czech, German, French and more besides - many of which sounded alike - exceedingly annoying. I cannot overstate this. <br/>This book - which is a well-told, little understood historical gem- would have been far better served if the narrator had simply read the book aloud in the same voice throughout. Unless one is remarkably proficient in altering the sound and pitch of one's voice (Shakespearean actors perhaps) one should only attempt an American accent if one is American, a British accent if one is British and so on. Otherwise it detracts from the story being told and becomes "the story", as opposed to a vehicle by which the story is being relayed.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

There were many touching vignettes, including the story of how the old medical doctor, trapped in Breslau with his wounded soldier son, dressed the son up in bandages, put on his old WW1 medical uniform and led both his 'injured' son and other wounded men onto a train and out of the besieged city. A terrific father and son moment, against all the odds.